Mobility in Europe just got safer: eCall becomes mandatory

Brussels, 3 April 2018 – As of this month eCall is mandatory in all new car and light vehicle models in Europe and ERTICO was one of the strongest advocates for having every car equipped with eCall.

“We are very proud of cooperating with the European Commission and European Parliament to make eCall a reality. ERTICO has been one of the driving forces behind the discussion of equipping vehicles with eCall since 2001 when it first started to take shape. Thanks to our diverse Partnership, we ensured cross-sectoral discussions and cooperation which was fundamental for reaching consensus towards the implementation of eCall” – Jacob Bangsgaard, ERTICO’s CEO stated showing his satisfaction for this achievement.

ERTICO’s involvement in the development of a pan-European in-vehicle emergency call service based on 112 started first with the eMerge and GST Rescue projects, and later on with HeERO and I_HeERO series of projects; all supported by the European Commission and led by ERTICO. These pre-deployment projects were complemented by the eSafety Forum, iMobility Forum, iCar Support and iMobility Support initiatives, which brought eCall to the policy level. ERTICO supported the European Commission within the eCall Implementation platform, and acted as coordination body of relevant stakeholders interested in the implementation of the pan-European eCall.

“eCall has been in many ways a constant companion of our work in the past 17 years” Mr Bangsgaard continued, “it required the close collaboration of Members States and private players, something which is a strength of ERTICO”.

In addition to being mandatory in all the EU Member States, eCall will be operational in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland and crossing the borders to the Russian Federation, which has developed a similar system called ERA GLONASS interoperable to eCall. Interoperability and standardisation are a vital part of ERTICO’s work to ensure a seamless and harmonised service across Europe. ERTICO’s TESTFEST events are dedicated to trailing the interoperability of eCall devices from different manufacturers and vendors, and represent therefore the most technical and commercial aspect of technology implementation. This year, ERTICO will hold a subsequent TESTFEST looking at the next generation eCall and the how the system can be amended to the 4G and 5G technology shift.

“We will play a key role in the continuation of eCall not only in relation to its technical aspect, but also in promoting discussion and collaboration amongst our Partners and stakeholders to save lives and reducing road fatalities”, Mr Bangsgaard concluded.

Note to the editor:

About ERTICO – ITS Europe
ERTICO – ITS Europe is a public-private partnership of 120 companies and organisations representing Service Providers, Suppliers, Traffic and Transport Industry, Research, Public Authorities, Users, Mobile Networks Operators, Vehicle Manufactures. ERTICO embodies Thought Leadership and fosters Stakeholder Engagement; ERTICO innovates, promotes and deploys Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) through a variety of activities including European co-funded projects, Innovation Platforms, International Cooperation, Advocacy and Events. ERTICO is also the organiser of the ITS European and World Congresses, which take place every year in a different European city.
Our focus is on Connected & Automated Driving, Urban Mobility, Clean Mobility, and Transport & Logistics.www.ertico.com

About eCall
eCall is based on built-in sensors which are automatically triggered in the event of a collision or an accident. Getting immediate information about a collision and pinpointing its exact location cuts emergency services’ response time by 50% in rural and 40% in urban areas. It is expected that the introduction of this system in the European Union will reduce the number of road transport fatalities by 2,500 per year.https://iheero.eu